Brazilian journalist and girlfriend kidnapped and murdered

Saturday 11 February 2012 04.00 EST
First published on Saturday 11 February 2012 04.00 EST

The body of a Brazilian journalist who wrote about corruption and had survived one attempt on his life was found the day after he was abducted.

Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes had been shot dead along with his companion, Maria Aparecide Guimarães.

Randolfo, editor-in-chief of the news website Vassouras na Net, was kidnapped with his girlfriend on Wednesday by three men in the city of Barra do Piraí in Rio de Janeiro state. Their bodies were found 22 hours later dumped next to a highway.

Randolfo, 50, had frequently written articles accusing local officials of corruption. His most recent article alleged that local judges and courts were corrupt. He was also being sued for defamation by a judge and a police officer.

In July last year, Randolfo was working in his newsroom when a man burst in and shot shot him in the head, which left him in a coma for three days. After he recovered, he moved home and worked from there.

A local congressman, José Mário Salomão de Omena, said Randolfo had "a large volume of enemies."

Ricardo Pedreira, executive director of Brazil's National Association of Journalists, said: "The frequent reason behind violence against journalists, bloggers and radio journalists is organised crime... Impunity is a problem in Brazil."

The New York-based press freedom watchdog, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), has documented a rise in violence against the media in Brazil over the past year.

Two journalists were killed in the country in 2011 because of their work, and four others were killed in unclear circumstances.